I Design For

Former DT For

Vintage Layouts

07/05/2016

I am back from vacation, and ready to show you my projects created with Flying Unicorn's July Kit of the Month!!! Today I am starting off with a layout of my newest Grand-son Jackson. He is so stinking cute!!!

Once again I have no closeups. I was in a rush to get my projects done before I left on vacation, so I took minimal photographs.

I started by adding a wash of gesso to my background, covering mainly the top 2/3 of the paper. I ran some molding paste through the stencil, going across the paper, making sure to add mountains and valleys or highs and lows. Once that was dry, I misted with the Tea Stain, and Pastel Cobalt sprays and added Ground Espresso ink to my edges.

I fussy cut some of the ephemera and aged with the same ink, and used these pieces as photo mats. I also cut a slit in the envelope, to insert more ephemera as well as a Wellington Bear Topper. In the bottom corner I fussy cut the leaves, aged with the brown ink, added splatters with the same color re-inker, and then added touches of the gold paint to the edges and layered them within my flower cluster. I also added another Wellington Bear and the wood icon 'grow' as my title.

The flourish was coated with the brown ink, to give that corner some weight. The floral chippies, were gessoed and sprayed with the Cobalt mist, and once dry I added more gold paint here and there. I felt that the clusters needed some smaller flowers in brighter colors, so I pulled out some French Riviera flowers from my stash, and tucked them in under the clusters.

08/29/2012

That's actually 'Vintage'...LOL....didn't have a 'T', so I had to improvise...you'll see in a minute. Anyways, we did make it through Tropical Storm (now Hurricane) Isaac, with NO damage or issues of any kind!! Yeah...I'm very happy about that. My son & DIL had a tornado touch down a few blocks away, not cool....but they only had a couple of small trees fall over. We're all glad it's over!

Meanwhile, I finally got my Cricut up and running again! I've been wanting to hook up to Cricut Craftroom for as long as it's been around, but I just didn't want to learn the new software (haha), plus I just wasn't using the Cricut much. But, I am in the middle of working on a layout, and it needed flowers, etc that matched the papers......so I thought that I would give it a go. My son would be so proud....once I got into the Craftroom, which he installed, it asked me if I wanted to update, well duh!! So, I started to do that, and then it told me, that I had an older version, so I needed to upgrade....well....here's where Dan would be proud.....I did the whole install all by myself!!! Yeah, I'm technologically challenged, but I'm very pleased that I was able to get it done!! Anyways, I got it going, and have been cutting away all night!!! Thought you'd get a laugh out of this adventure!

Vin7age

This is my Dad, pic taken about a year or so ago. And to go along with that.....I made this LO before Mother's Day, yeah, I'm a little behind in posting!! Anyways, papers are G45 (background), Kaisercraft (red) and Creative Imaginations (with the middle cut out). Hmm, I may have the last two papers mixed up.

My pic is matted on scraps of G45 papers, a Prima journaling card, and some Jolee's journaling spots. I added some eyelets (stash), on the peaks and corners of the CI paper, and then ran some twine (stash) through them.

The gears and ornate plate are Tim Holtz, which I added Rub 'n Buff in Grecian Gold over top.

Lots of fussy cutting of the cars....more G45 papers. The weathered clock is Tim Holtz/Sizzix, slathered in embossing powder from Lindy's Stamp Gang....the colors are Terra Cotta Rust, Caesar's Gold and Desert Moon Copper Pink. The flower is from Prima. The compass was punched (unknown paper) and then layered under a Tim fragment.

The gold embellie is handmade, with air dry clay, from Crayola and a Wilton candy mold. I embossed it with LSG Caesar's Gold, added an alcohol inked (currant) button (stash), over top, and wound some more twine around it.

My alphas are from My Mind's Eye, I inked them with Aged Mahoganny DI, stamped with a Tattered Angels background stamp using Stazon ink, and then used Crackle Accents over top. Love how they turned out.

So..... what's the surprise, well.....I can't really tell you til September 1st. Let's just say that I'm very stoked about it!! So much so, that on September 1st, when I announce my surprise, I will be doing a small RAK. I don't have pics, but it will comprise of a few of my favorite things! If you frequent my blog....you have a good idea of what some of my faves are!! So make sure you come back on the 1st!!!

03/03/2012

So I was supposed to do a vid of my scrap/craft room......it didn't happen! And for very good reason.....my son & his girlfriend are coming next week!!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to see them both!!!! Kevin, is the photographer of many of the pics I use in my LOs. I haven't had any of his pics for quite a while, as he's been in Puerto Rico for a year and half! Anyways, I've been cleaning, and organizing, and making preparations for their visit, sooooo, I promise, I will do the video as soon as I can!! BTW, we just found out they were coming, last weekend!!

Timeless

My daughter Ashley.....I love this pic of her!! Would you believe that I didn't write down everything I used for this LO! And it's been quite a while since I made it, so I'll do my best to tell you which products were used.

Of course BoBunny papers, and Coredinations carstock, which I sanded. I think the white cardstock is actually watercolor paper. I used the Spellbinders Lace Doily Motifs to cut the corner pieces. I just cut one in half diagonally, and stuck each piece in the left side corners. Here's a closeup...........

I love the look of the sanded cardstock!! So grungy and vintagey chic!!!

Some BoBunny accent pieces. The flower was made with the Lace Doily Accents. I used the edge piece, and snipped the bottom, and then glued it to a circle. I layered the cardstock, watercolor paper, BoBunny papers and a flower from I Am Roses, to make it.

I was pretty impressed with how it turned out. It was my first time doing this, and I'll definitely do it again!

The title was typed onto watercolor paper, and cut with the Lace Doily Accent label, and layered over another accent piece, which was also sanded. I added a T!m Holtz clock face, and some flourishes, which I think were BoBunny cardstock stickers? I think.

All of the flowers and skeleton leaves are from I Am Roses. My faves are the gardenias and cherry blossoms!! But those curly roses are fast becoming a new fave!

The One About The Hose

This is as simple an LO as you'll ever see from me!! Definitely not my style, but it turned out pretty cool. I was having such a hard time photographing this LO, cause I layered a transparency from Dynamic over SEI paper....and no matter what angle I took the picture from, I would get glare. Ugh!!!!!!!!! If you look at the top middle portion, you can see the green leaves of the SEI paper....that's what the whole thing looks like. It's a very cool LO, I just can't show it to you that way!! Here's a closeup of the top section....it'll give you a better idea...............

The story behind this LO, is that my daughter Ashley & my grand-son Mason were here visiting us for a few weeks. On a Sunday afternoon, when my son Dan & his wife Carol came for dinner, one of our neighbors became ill, and paramedics were called. Well, Mason had to see the BIG trucks (here they also send a firetruck with the medics). So Dan took Mason out to the street so he could get a better view. Well the ambulance left, and the guys got into the firetruck, and pulled up to our driveway!! They got out, and asked Mason if he wanted to go inside and look around!!! They showed him everything, including the hose. Needless to say Mom was out there taking pics, well...............yep, they turned the hose on her (not hard). Of course Mason got a big kick out of this!!!! And I got some awesome pics!! Just wish I had one of Ashley getting sprayed!!! LOL

I think that's all for now!! I'm almost finished showing you projects from January!!!! And I still have to take pics of the about 10 more I've completed recently!!

02/26/2012

If you read my last blog post, you'll remember that I mentioned I'd been re-organizing. I also said that I wasn't ready to take everything out and start over again. Well........right after I posted that, I started looking around my studio.......and........of course.....I had to figure out a way to make it work. At least make it work better, and still have some floor space! LOL It took me a full day of playing with graph paper and little furniture cut-outs, before I came up with a grand plan.

The very next morning around 6am, I started moving everything out!! It took about 8 hours, not counting breakfast & lunch, to get it all moved around. And now I just love it!! It's got a better layout, and there's floor space! I'm missing one small table that I want to use as part of my L-shaped desk. I actually ordered it from Target, got my confirmation, etc. and 3 days later, I got an email from them saying they'd cancelled my order! Ugh!!! Apparently they were out of stock. Really? They weren't out of stock when I ordered it!!!! I'm pretty bummed about it. So I'll keep looking around, and see what else I can find.

Anyways.......here's another LO that I completed right after Christmas. Yeah, I'm behind in posting!

White Sands

Paper is Prima and Webster's Pages, with lots of distressing and layering. Cardstock is from Bazzill. Doily is, of course from Wilton!

Not a great pic, but, the chippie is from Kaisercraft. It's slathered in Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst Sprays (Cosmopolitan Pink & A Bit 'o Bubbly) and T!m's Distress Inks in Antique Linen and Tattered Rose, some Halo Pink-Gold Lumiere paint, Espresso Dimensional Pearls from Ranger and Stickles in Fruit Punch. I typed up my Title and glued it behind the chippy, after spraying with LSG Sprays.

I've used a Prima Antique Mirror over a Prima Flocked Rubon, and a K&Co diecut under the mat.

The The floral spray is from Recollections. The newspaper leaves are also from Recollections, misted with My Mojito Green from LSG. The large white bloom is handmade from an old curtain, a scrap and a button cover, and one Prima flower center. I love that the fabric is fraying, it just adds to the overall effect. The pink ledger paper (Prima) doily was cut with the Floral Doily Motif from Spellbinders.

Here's a closeup of the flower. You can also see a bit of the stamping I've done with a Hampton Arts stamp, and Memento ink in Rich Cocoa. Pink roses are Prima. The little red blossoms were in one of my Swirlydoos Kits. The small green leaves are I Am Roses.

One more for the road.....................Applause

The birthday card I made for my oldest, Kevin. Pretty simple. Lots of T!m products and a pleasant surprise! The red on the clock face is not intentional......it's a by-product of painting over black chipboard!!! Love it!!!!

I think I've been challenged......by PJ, to actually make some videos. Go check out her new blog, and watch some interesting AND funny vids!!! So.......I'm going to attempt it next week when I'm off. We'll see how it works with a point-and-shoot camera! Hahahahaha

08/06/2011

After a couple of months of compiler & runtime optimization errors, not to mention having issues leaving comments, not being able to get to some blogs, not seeing 'add to cart' buttons (sigh!), and then there was the 'updates' every couple of minutes (so it seemed), cause it just couldn't update with all of those issues!!......my computer is fixed!!! Gotta give my son Dan the kudos!!! He did a lot of research to figure out what would work best with Adobe Photoshop, Cricut Design Studio, my new camera, etc and then he still had to format the whole thing and start all over again!!! Now, I have Windows 7....YEAH!!!! So hated Windows Vista.....definitely not a stable operating system!!! And of course Internet Explorer 9!!! And it even works with Typepad!!!!

Thanks Dan!!!!!

So very thankful for all of your hard work!! And so very happy that you live close by!!! LOL

I love this pic of my Dad and my Grand-son Mason sitting together on the steps. Whenever, Mason would feel anxious, or wasn't sure about something, he would always go up to Grand-pa, so he could feel secure!! This pic shows one of those moments.....and that certainly gives me 'a wonderful world' feeling.

As you've probably already guessed, this months Latte & Cream Challenge was 'browns'. Love the monochromatic look......but I had to add that little G45 piece on the car.....it just needed it!! BoBunny paper is from one of my Swirlydoos kits that I sub, and some scraps from Graphic 45 & 7Gypsies.

Clock diecut is Tim Holtz/Sizzix, and I used chipboard from Wal-Mart. All I did was to distress it with Tim's Distress Inks in Vintage Photo & Walnut Stain. Tiny Type alphas are from Cosmo Cricket.

More Tim/Sizzix dies.....love this car!!! I've used this diecut so many times!! Again, I just inked it up with Tim's DIs and then misted with Starburst Sprays from Lindy's Stamp Gang. Stickers are from Rebecca Sower/Stickopotamus, The Paper Studio & Glitz. Ticket is from SEI.

Large alphas are from American Crafts. Large eyelets are from Dritz, and they're normally used on fabric, but I wanted the brass color, and the larger holes. Seam Binding is from Hug Snug, and is hand dyed.

Remember when I said I was going to do a RAK soon? Yeah it seems like forever ago......well I'm gearing up for it. I've got a lot of mini kits, and products made up to put in my etsy store....just have to take pics and upload!! I'll probably be doing the RAK at the end of August. Right now, we are in the middle of preparing for inventory at work.....and I'm working more. So, stay tuned..............

03/19/2011

A few days ago, I received an email from Eve the owner of Black With 2. She had already chosen the new DTs for this blog. Was I disappointed....yes, but not for long!! Why? Well, Eve asked me to DT for her other blog, Scrapbudz Scrapbook Boutique. How awesome is that!!! I am honored to be part of the team!! And I'm definitely joining a very talented group of ladies!! Thanks Eve!!!!!!

My new position starts on April 1st! It's been a while since I've been on a 'creative' deadline. But I'm totally looking forward to it, and I can't wait to get started!!

I did update my blog, with all of the new team info and blog links. Check out the <----- sidebar. And I will also post the new blinky, as soon as I can get it to work......technologically challenged here!! Please do take some time, and visit the Scrapbudz blogs. I also made some other changes (minor), and I'm planning on changing up my gallery......sometime in the near future.

So, I am going to share the projects that I submitted to Eve.....I'll keep the wordiness short!! LOL as if I can do that!! But I will keep the closeups to a minimum.

Tranquillite

Gorgeous papers!!!! The Moonrise Collection....this is one of my fave collections from SEI!!! LOVE IT!! I actually 'saved' it for months, before I finally decided to cut into it!!! How crazy is that? I just thought it was too beautiful to use up! The pic of my DIL, Carol, was printed in sepia on watercolor paper, and then distressed with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The little black velvet leaves......were flowers from Heidi Swapp......I just cut them apart into sections of two. The filagree butterfly is also SEI. Lace trim is Prima, felt trim is Recollections (see note), the foil border strip is Jolee's & the vintage whatnot is from Glitz.

The peach and the black & white flowers were cut from the pp. I made itty bitty flowers with the buttons & sequins that were included in the SEI kit. The bling is also Recollections and the larger leaves are made from one of my fave 7Gypsies paper. I love it so much, that I buy a few sheets everytime I see it!!

Remember

I punched a bunch of circles and layered them under the punched (Martha Stewart) circle mat. You can see the Heidi Swapp black velvet flowers peaking out from under the glimmer misted Prima flowers. I used Basic Gray & Graphic 45 papers. I added a few K&Co and G45 diecuts, as well as some October Afternoon stickers.

My title is also stickers from OA. The seam binding is from Bluebird Lane Etsy. And there's a few odds & ends everywhere.

Forever Happy

Love this pic of my DD Ashley....I think my DGS Mason took this pic, when they were at the airport waiting to go back home. I sanded part of the background because I really didn't want suitcases & stuff showing. I then stamped all over the sanded parts, with various Inkadinkado & Anna Griffin stamps. This LO is a bit different then what I usually do. I kept everything in the center to keep the background cleaner. More SEI papers. I used Lumiere paints on the title, which is a piece cut from a Dusty Attic chippy, another from K&Co, and on the the Tim/Sizzix birdcage & bird.I love how these handmade flowers turned out. I used more SEI papers....double sided cardstock, and I love the bits of green peaking out. I used a bit of broken china Distress Ink and some Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Mist, and added Recollections mini roses, also misted, to the centers. The leaves and bling are Prima. Bits of Tim Holtz, Martha Stewart pearls, Glitz sticker, and Tattered Angels.

Waiting

Pics of Mason are also at the airport...he was totally mesmerized by all of the hoopla outside of the window. I used My Mind's Eye, Prima, Onirie & SEI papers. Bits from Heidi Swapp, 7Gypsies, Sandylion, Martha Stewart, Greenbrier Intl. Distress Inks from Tim & paints from Folk Art

So here's my note......

Have you noticed how much more Recollections stuff there is at Michaels now? I was really getting frustrated with this, cause they were replacing the higher end products, such as Prima, with their own brand. Well, about a month ago, I was in there shopping, and they had lots more new stuff from Recollections. Not only more, but better quality, and much, much prettier than what they started with. I really didn't think I would ever say this, but I'm impresssed!! I'll still buy Prima, ZVA, etc, but I'll also get Recollections!! Bonus is that their stuff, is definitely less expensive!! Have you experienced the same thing? And are you buying the Recollections products? Nope, not getting any $$ from Michaels, just wondering if I'm the only one who feels this way.

That's all I have for today....and now it's time for me to go play some more!!

02/25/2011

Hi everyone!! I'm sure that it's no secret that I'm applying for the Graphic 45 Design Team!! Definitely something that I could not pass up. Why? I love their papers! There bold and subdued, wild and sweet. You name it they got it!! Love that I can use them for any type of layout or project, from clean & simple to retro romantic chic, and everything in between!!

That's all 15 of them!! Well if you count the spools as one, that is!! I had so much fun making these projects. It's easy when you have such gorgeous papers! And making the Graphic 45 Design Team would be the bomb!! And a dream come true!!!

01/04/2011

So, I decided to jump on the bandwagon!! Quite a few, of the many blogs that I visit, are doing their top ten (twelve) favorites for 2010. Sounded like a good idea....but not so easy to do!! I have so many faves, that it was really hard to narrow down. Plus, I wanted to show you where my inspiration comes from, so that made it even harder to pick which LOs or projects I wanted to show. But I got it down to twelve! Yes, twelve....there was no way I could do just ten!

I also decided to show them to you in alphabetical order, by name, of those bloggers who have most affected my work. Again, no easy task, as there are sooo many!!

So here we go.......

Charlene at Paper and Ink Playground. Love all of the gorgeous cards, gift boxes and sets, that she makes!! I would never have thought to make something like this gift card holder, were it not for her.

Denise at Vintage Scrappin. Denise's LOs are stunning!! She has a knack for adding gorgeous details to all of her projects. I'm sure that she's not aware, of how much of an influence that she has been on the evolution of my scrapping.

Dyan Reaveley at Art and Soul. Love her quirky style and sense of humor!! Dyan is an art journaler; and she says it like it is. Of course, she inspired me to do this LO.

Ingvild at Spinnvild. That woman is so talented!! Her style is fresh & funky, and filled with beautiful flowers, and embellishments.

Irene at Scrapperlicious. Her style varies so much, and I love it!! Just when I think that I've figured out her style, she does something totally different. I never know what she's going to come up with, and that's motivating!

Karola at Karola Kraftuje. Love her gorgeous LOs and projects!! No matter what products she uses, her projects are always romantic & very feminine.

Lisa at What A Beautiful Mess. If you've ever wanted to make your own flowers, or you want to learn some new techniques....this is definitely the blog to go to!! Awesome tutorials!!

Lynne at The Next Best Thing by Lynne. From romantic to clean & simple. From vintage to retro. Lynne's style is all her own!! Gorgeous projects and LOs, from a fresh perspective.

Thank you all for sharing your LOs, & projects!! For being real, open-hearted and quick to share your ideas and techniques.....you've changed my life, for the better, in more ways, than you'll ever know. Thank you!!

I'm sure that there are many, many more scrappers & bloggers, that have inspired me over the last year!! But these are by far, the best & most talented folks out there!! Soooooo, check out their blogs.....I know you'll be as inspired as I was!

10/19/2010

I originally made this LO for the DT Call at Let's Get Shabby. I didn't make their new team :( but I did get a pretty nice LO for my DGS's Vermont album, out of it!

Paper is October Afternoon, 7 Gypsies & My Mind's Eye.

The alphas are MME & little wood ones are from EK Success. I place my letters over a glimmer misted doily (Wilton) that I cut the center out of.

Flowers are Prima & Heidi Swapp. Leaves were cut on Cricut with K&Co paper. The gingham ribbon is old outdoor ribbon from Floracraft. My daughter found this one, and a few others, at a thrift store in Vermont. They're a bit harder to work with, but I love their vintageness!! And since the call included that you make an LO with 'Ginham & Floral'......well that was just too perfect!!

I also added a bit of Adirondack Dimensional Pearls to the outer edge of the phot mat. And a bit of Tim Holtz Distress Inks to the edges. The lace is May Arts and the pearl brad is MME. Don't you just love that huge Prima butterfly?!!

09/09/2010

September Kit is up at Snobby Walrus!! You're gonna LOVE this kit!! Lots of beautiful papers, and embellies, that you probably wouldn't have thought to put together yourself....but it works!!

Pic is a little blurry, but you get the idea!! Go check it out at Snobby Walrus!! And here's a couple of my projects......

You Give Me Wings

My DD & grandson, playing with her camera, this past spring. Love the gorgeous Sassafras Lass paper that I chose for my backgrounds!! I did use Vintage Photo Distress Ink on the edges. The pink SL was sprayed with water, scrunched up, dried, and then inked with more Distress Inks. Don't you love the juxtaposition of naked cardboard against the vintagey papers? It's def one of my fave techniques.

I matted my pic on Chiyogami paper (August kit) & a scrap which I punched with Martha Stewart lace punch. Here's a closeup of the title.....

Alphas are October Afternoon, and the little bird is my design, made from recycled & new products (more on that later in the week).

Lace is Prima. Alphas are My Mind's Eye (stash) which I stamped with a script Hampton Art Stamp & Staz On. I then added some gorgeous Tattered Angels Glimmer Glam in Tide Pool over the top.....LOVE this look!!!!

I added a few Tim Holtz grungeboard embellies (stash) which I painted with Folk Art Metallic & Pearl paints. Wire is from Darice, and the crystal is Heidi Swapp. Twisted burlap is from May Arts (August kit). Flower is Prima, which I purchased at the SW store. I almost forgot the journal card from My Mind's Eye, which I also applied Glimmer Glam to. This product is soooo cool. One coat and you can barely see it, if you want a more intense color, just add more coats. This product dries matte, with bits of glitter in it....so cool!! Also, be sure to use a misting mat underneath your work while using this product....it's def sticky, and will adhere to just about anything!!

Life @ 55 MPH

This pic of my son Kevin & grand-son Mason, is another in our Family Photo Shoot Series from this past January. I love these pics sooo much, that I have been scrapping ALL of them!! BTW, this series was shot by Kevin!!!

Love the Sassafras background paper!! And don't you just love that each of the pps, come with a bonus scalloped selvage!!! Love using these as frames for the pics, or border for flower clusters!! I also added a piece of Onirie pp in middle of the page, and bordered the top with a bit of Jillibean soup kraft paper which I punched with MS punch.

Tickets are My Mind's Eye. Alphas are Pink Paislee. Now, these were white, but I grunged them up with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Little felt stickers (tow truck & car) are Sassafras Lass, and they are on a huge SALE at SW, 99 cents per package!!!! How awesome is that!!

I just love this little dude!! He is cut from the Onirie paper, and Glimmer Glammed!! I used a very small paintbrush to get into the little areas that I wanted colored. I also misted the Prima lace with TA Dragonfly, and then brushed the Tidepool Glimmer Glam over top.

I first used a piece from Jillibean Soup 'Diced Bacon' as a mat, and then added the @, which I cut using Cricut & Lyrical Letters cart. I grunged up the leftover JBS (turned a piece over) with TH Distress Ink, and then added Ranger Glossy Accents over top.

That's the first 2 projects for the month.....I will probably add the next 2, at the beginning of next week. I've got lots to do for the rest of the month......I'm moving!!! And somewhere in there, I need to get my SW projects for October done, as well as post some products to my Etsy store......later in the week. I'm def going to need a vaca after this month is over!!!

06/13/2010

I was soooo proud of myself. I tell you, it was just one of those things, you know the kind.....everything works perfectly...no issues.....no problems.....just smooth sailing all the way. Yeah...okay!!! Not this time!

If you read my last post, then you know that Lynnette Davis is now the Official Challenge Host at Snobby Walrus, and she has issued her first challenge....

Love those colors together!! Well challenge #2 is now up at SW with Tracy Cave the "Walrus Overlord", that's DT Co-ordinator to you, taking on the lead. Here's the stipulations.....

Doesn't sound too difficult, now does it? No, I didn't think so either. And I had such grand plans, all I had to do was morph the two challenges together, and enter my LO into both challenges!!! As a DT, I can't win, so I'm really playing for the fun of it, and to enable my challenge hostesses!! I figured with Ashley & Mason coming next Tuesday (YEAH!!), and all of the preparations I have to do, that I only had time to make one LO. This way, I could still play! Easy peasy, right?! NOT. Before I even try to explain....let me just show you.....

Do you see it? Do you see the problem with this LO?

I have all of the right colors, light pink, pale yellow, white & grey. Right? Yep, check!

I have the buttons. Yep...that big old yellow thing in the top right corner...that's my button, which I covered with a Prima flower center. Check!

I have a handmade embellishment. The big polka dot flower, which I edged in TH distress inks 'worn lipstick', and sprayed with Tattered Angels 'tattered rose' Glimmer Mist. Check!

I have polka dot patterned paper from My Mind's Eye. The big old flower, and the bottom petals on the Prima Belle Arte 'poetry' flowers. Check!

I have journaling. Yep, right next to the pic of Ashley...something I probably don't do enough of. Check!

I have color photo(s). Check! Wait, that's a black & white pic.....ooops, this is where it all went wrong. And do you know when this happened. No it wasn't while I was choosing the papers, embellies & pic. It wasn't even when I was working on the LO. And not even when I was taking the pic of the LO. So when did it happen......when I decided to just double check & make sure I had everything I needed to have on there, before I put up this post & linked it back to the challenges!! Ugh!! Tooooooo late!!

So, if I go ahead and link this LO to both challenges, do you think anyone will notice? After all it doesn't matter, since I can't win anyways, right? Who's going to notice? And are they going to tell the Challenge Police? And what will they do, force me to make individual LOs for each challenge? Or worse, ban me from entering any challenges? OMG, you don't think that they would......NO!! Tell me it's not true, they really can't force me to use 'no name brand papers, & embellies', right? Argh!!!! Shoot me now!!

LOL........gotta laugh.....yep, I'm having toooo much fun with this! Anyways, let me show you some closeups.......

Love those Prima flowers!! Don't forget to check them out, and be entered for your chance to win a prize pack!! All I did was to add a medium sized petal to the bottoms of each, to make them stand out just a bit more. Everything was layered over Prima & Webster's Pages papers. I used 7 Gypsies paper for the leaves. And my picture is matted with glittery SEI paper.

Diecuts are from K&Co. Dew Drops, unknown, but courtesy of my good friend Charlene from POSH. Thank you Charlene!! Here's another closeup......

Bling & brads are from Prima & Michaels. Rubons from Kaiser, Pink Paislee, and Me & My Big Ideas. The resin flower (white) and the elephant are by Jolees. Alphas by Making Memories. Button, ribbon & lace are from my stash.

So what do you think? Should I or shouldn't I? My inner voice is telling me, go ahead and do it....but that could be just cause that's what I want to do!!! LOL ~~~~~ whatever!

Okay, so did I tell you that this was going to be a long post? No? Well....it is! So get a cup, and have a sit......you're in for a while longer.......

I totally forgot to put up the pics from my last POSH blog post. Def not good!! Sorry Nini!!!

I chose to name this post, 'Bling It On!' And you guessed it, it's all about adding some glimmer, and glitter, to your projects. Which I did, but I had one special way to 'bling' up your projects..... with Sharpie or Copic markers!! Hey, you gotta read the post, to find out how!!! Here's the LO.......

So, can you spot where I used the Sharpie......I have a few Copics, not the right colors, and they are mucho $$$$$, so I am making do with what I have!!! Wow, I can't believe I just said that. Cause normally I am def OCD when it comes to scrap stuff. Actually, I am OCD when ever I get into something new......I just have to have everything!!!

Got a little side-tracked there, sorry about that. And please keep the OCD stuff to yourself.....I don't want anyone to know!!! Especially the scrap stores!! LOL Here's a few closeups.....

I actually dyed the lace with Glimmer Mist!!! Here's another closeup.....

Loooove the Hambly Screen Print frame!!!! TH Distress Stickles on the handmade leaves & flowers, and on the Michaels butterfly. Here's another closeup.......

Better view of the lace & the stickles! One last one......

I actually bought the title from the dollar bins, at Michaels. Of course, it didn't look like that!!! I used some Martha Stewart glitter to cover it....it was bare chipboard. I think it turned out pretty good. Actually, I'm a bit impressed, cause I really haven't had good luck with using glitter!! Somehow, I just get it everywhere except where it really needs to go. Wish I had taken the time to write down, excatly what I did, and which glue I used!!!

Oh yeah....before I forget......if you shop at Michaels, (if you don't, either there isn't one close by, or you must be the only one that doesn't go in there...they're always busy!!).....make sure you check out the $ bins....they always have some great items that you can use for scrapping!

So are you ready for this to end? Yeah, me too!!! I've gotta take pics of my RAK, so I can post tomorrow! Plus pay the bills, and then get some sleep before I have to go to Mom's for dinner, and then go work a 12 hour shift! So, I will leave you with the thought for the day........

06/02/2010

Do you remember that famous line? No? Not as old as the hills? How about Telly Savalas, do you remember him? No? Kojak?

Okay, if you weren't around to see the TV show 'Kojak', let me clue you in. Telly Savalas played the bald, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant title character in the show. Say that 3 times fast!! So, it was a cop show that ran from 1973 to 1978 on CBS. Kojak, was a stubborn, and tenacious investigator of crimes...he was fond of lollipops, and his catchphrase was 'Who loves you, baby?' - thank you Wikipedia for the stuff I forgot!

Anyways......that's where the title for this LO came from! No real story behind 'why' I chose the title, except that it just sounded cool!! And naturally, I do love my daughter Ashley, and somehow the pic, just dictated the title.

This layout was made using the June 2010 Kit from Snobby Walrus. I had so much fun with this kit!! I actually ended up making 6 LO's & 1 mini album with it --- way too many for the DT gallery!! There was so much stuff in the kit, that I still have a bunch of embellies & 1 1/2 sheets of paper left!! How awesome is that! You should see what I got in the July Kit!!!!! Wait....you can't see that for a month...June Kits just came out!

Okay.....here's the first pic.....

Handmade roses a la Timmy!! That beautiful frame is from Hambly Screen Prints.....if you haven't seen their products, you gotta check out their site!! Hinges & hearts made with TH Grungeboard Diecuts & dies from his Alterations Collection. I embossed the grungeboard with my Cuttlebug & Allegro folder, and then painted them with FolkArt metallic & pearl paints from Plaid. Here's a closeup....

I Glimmer Misted some of the roses and then added a bit more sparkle with Distress Stickles. Then I added curlicues made with 7 Gypsies paper....leftovers from the May Kit. All was layered over a TH flourish painted matte black.

Are you wondering where I got the Bingo card? I made it. Actually I designed it for the Valentine RAK I had, and decided it was perfect for this LO. I had placed my pic on a piece of Coredinations cardstock, but found that it was missing something, that's when I decided to use the Hambly frame, yes, it's in the kit. I also felt that I needed a bit more color around the pic, so I added pieces of inked transparencies which I die cut along the edge using, what else but Timmy dies.

Here's another closeup....

The American Crafts glittered alphas are layered over a piece of scrap lace....sooooo wish I had more of this lace!!!! It's just gorgeous!

Here's one more closeup.....

You can see a bit of pearlescence on the hinges in this pic, which I held in place with My Mind's Eye brads.

Papers are Glitz, My Mind's Eye, 7 Gypsies & Coredinations.

Since I started this post, by hinting to my age.....this next LO title, will really take you back......

It's My Party

sung by Lesly Gore, released in 1963

The chorus to this song is basically, 'It's my party & I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to, you would cry too if it happened to you'

Well, everytime I saw this pic of my grand-son Mason at his 1st Birthday party, I thought of this song. His b-day is October 27, and this past year, we celebrated it on October 31st...Halloween Day. This turned out to be a really long day for him. What with the party preparations, the party, the dinner, the trick-or-treating and then the big finish.....pictionary! No wonder the kid was crying!!! Take a look...

This LO was made using the Vintage Splurge Kit from Snobby Walrus. I actually purchased this kit to get that Hambly Screen Print's record paper!! It's gorgeous.....the aqua background has a glimmered sheen to it, which unfortunately, I didn't capture with my pics.

The pic, however, did not go well with the paper...so I changed the color to Sepia in Photoshop. It was a bonus that by doing this, I instantly added more vintageness (word?) to this LO. I then matted in on white & then black cardstock, and then layered it over a vintage dicitionary page. The rubon photo corners are from Crate Paper. I added a 7 Gypsies strip, more leftovers from May Kit, and layered a scrap of polka dot paper from Basic Grey, over that. I also made the '1' from the BG paper using my Cricut. Next, I dug out my Ranger Inkssentials Opaque White Pen and wrote the chorus around the outer edges of the 'record', and the date of this celebration on the inner edges. I also created the 'year' Flag with the pen & a DaisyD rubon. The cupcake sticker is from Martha Stewart. Brad is My Mind's Eye. Vintage stamps and Prima flowers (all from Vintage Splurge Kit), complete the page.

BTW the black dots on the BG paper are not original to it. I thought it needed something to brighten it a bit, so I used my hole punch to created itty bitty circles out of black cardstock, and then I glued them over some of the white dots on the paper. Easy peasy! I going to leave you with two closeups...thanks for stopping by.....don't forget to leave a comment!!!

Love ya,

Lynne

PS I just received my order with the rest of the goodies for the 'June Bride' RAK....so I will be posting pics & rules in the next couple of days.

05/02/2010

You know, I was so excited when I got the May kit from Snobby Walrus, that I just couldn't wait to get sarted on my projects!! The papers & embellies in this kit are just gorgeous, sooooo, if you haven't checked them out yet....you def need to do that now!!

BTW, I'll keep this post short!!! LOL

Without further ado, here they are, my May projects:

So Happy Together

Love You

I Will Follow You

Vroom Vroom

Joy

Since I'm having issues uploading pics again, I'll leave the closeups for the SW photo album, and the Snobby Walrus DT Gallery. Thanks for stopping by!!

PS, Don't forget about the RAK....will update tomorrow!! If you don't know about it, check out the National Scrapbook Day & A Mini post (below).

03/16/2010

Every year, around Christmas, we get together and do a Family Photo Shoot. My son Kevin is the photographer, and we are his cast!! Grand-ma Pete & Grand-pa Moe (my parents), Ashley (DD), Mike (SIL), Mason (grand-son), Dan (DS), Carol (DIL) and myself. It's quite the production......just getting everybody's schedule to work is a feat!!!

Since Kevin is doing the shoot, he has to get everything ready. He has to do some test pics, get us all together in the right place, set the timer, and run to his spot, tell us all to smile, and run back & check the pic, and then do it all over again. We always do a 'family' portrait, and each couple, and usually one with me & my folks, and one with me & my kids. This usually takes about 1 1/2 hours. Not too bad!! And then we get take-out or head out to a restaurant. Fun!!

Well, this year was a bit different. First, we all knew that Mike was going to Basic & Specialty Training in mid-January, and that Ashley & Mason were going to Vermont to be with Mike's Mom. Second, I'm back to working overnight. Third.......Mason!!! He is a bundle of energy!! That kid never stops......really he doesn't!! I'm sure that if he didn't need to sleep, he certainly wouldn't!! He loves playing and walking, and walking, and looking at everything, and more walking!! And then there's the picking up of anything that suits his fancy....leaves, flowers, rocks, keys, any little bit that he sees!! He has more energy than the Energizer Bunny!!! No joke!!

This year, we decided that each couple and myself, would have pics taken with Mason, plus the usual 'Family' portrait. Can you just imagine how difficult that was!! There was just no way that, that kid wanted to be held, and forced to smile!! We took turns standing behind Kevin and waving, & shouting 'peek-a-boo', etc. to get him to smile!! We even tickled him, as we were holding him. He just didn't want to do this!! Well, the shoot ended up taking almost 4 hours to get done!!!

The up-side to this, is that we def got more 'natural' looking pics, than normal.....with the exception of the 'Family" portrait. Our smiles looked less 'forced', and we were being ourselves!! We didn't get too many shots with Mason smiling, but that's okay. Our photos showed more of the love that we have for each other!! Def better pics!!! We also ended up getting some funny and goofy pics!!!

The LO that I'm going to show you today, is def a funny one!! You see, Kevin was holding Mason, & Dan was taking the pics. Mason is still teething, so he keeps putting his hand in his mouth.......well, he decided that he needed to put his wet fingers in Kevin's ear, just a moment before Dan snapped the pic!!! It was hilarious....Kevin trying to maintain his composure, and still wipe his ear. Mason had this impish look like he thought that he had just gotten even with Kevin!

Yep, he gave Kevin a 'wet willy'!!! Look at that face, doesn't it look like he actually knew what he just did?!!! LOL I love this pic!!!!

I used a lot of different papers on this LO. There's Webster's Pages, K&Co, Graphic 45, Tim Holtz & Pink Paislee. The bright fun colors look great against the WP balloon paper!! I don't usually do bright LOs, but I think that this one has me hooked!!! This LO is def one of my top 3 faves!!!!

It's also the the LO that got me doing punched circle flowers......sooooo easy to do!!! I used 3 different sized circle punches, edged the circles with TH Distress Ink in Walnut Stain, and added a Pink Paislee brad. Here's a closeup......

I also added leaves made with Cricut and Plantin Schoolbook cartridge. I folded the leaves to make veining, and then edged each fold with distress ink & then topped it with Distress Stickles, all in Peeled Paint. I also used up some K&Co & EK Success flowers that I had leftover from another project, and I added some dimensional paint (TH & Polymark) to the centers. Here's another with the bear....

I bought that cute little bear (Jolee's) about 1 year ago; it had a bright red bow on it, before I changed it to blue (stash). I just couldn't come up with a way to use it on a LO.....until now. I think he looks so cute!!! The chipboard ladybug on the right side is from Colorbok, part of a 'wild 'animal' collection (see 'Are You Lion' post).

I did a bunch of distressing on this LO...unfortunately it was a rainy day when I took the pics, & the colors are a little off....that is TH Distress Ink in Walnut Stain around the edges.

And another....

And another......

I also used Worn Lipstick, Fired Brick & Peeled Paint around the edges of the layered papers. The chipboard is from K&Co & Colorbok. The burlap under the sentiment was in my stash. Alphas are also K& CO, and the sentiment (which I love) is from Cosmo Cricket!!! I wadded it up many times to get the wrinkled look, and then used TH Walnut Stain Distress Ink on the edge.

I had a lot of fun doing this LO....mostly, I just kept laughing at the pic!!!! As much as I love the 'Vintage Romantc Chic' look, I will def do more 'bright' LOs.

Hope you enjoyed this one as much as I did making it!!! Thanks for stopping by!!!

02/05/2010

Whoo hoo!!! Can't believe it's here already!! It seems like years ago, that I was contacted about being a guest designer for the G45 blog. Okay, so it's only been a few months...it just feels like ages!!! I gotta admit that even though I was very excited and couldn't wait to start on my projects for them, it really did sneak up on me!!!

I am so thankful to G45 for giving me this opportunity!! You all know that their papers are my faves, and even if I use other papers, I try to incorporate a bit of G45 into my layouts. That's how much I love them!! No other paper company has come close to matching the vintage look and feel that they offer. Everytime I look at them, it brings me back to my childhood. Now, THAT was a long time ago!!!

I really do love G45!!! And I'm not saying that because they asked me to be a guest designer, or because they may be watching!!! Anyways.........., I have already submitted two layouts to them and have two more projects in the works. One is almost done...that is, if I can figure out where to put the darn bow!! Sometimes it's the easy stuff that gives you the most headaches!!

Because no one had the new collections in stock, I've had to use the older papers for my projects. I'm telling you, that I can't wait to get my hands on the new collections!!! Especially 'Le' Romantique', even if there's no 'significant other' in my life!! I could use them for wedding LO's or girlie-girl LOs!! 'On the Boardwalk' would be perfect, since I live in Florida. And then there's "A Proper Gentleman', they would be perfect for LO's of my sons!!! Okay, I want them all!!! My LSS is saying mid-March, but.....I found two online stores that actually have them in stock right now!!! Okay, I'll share!!! For paper packs, go to Eclectic Paperie. And if you prefer single sheets, you gotta go to Scrapbook.com. I really didn't set out to brag on these online shops, and they don't know that I'm doing this, and no, they are not giving me anything in return. I just want everyone to be able to get the new papers!!

Wow, talk about going off track!!! So on with the show....

That's me in the pic, circa 1965!!! I told you I was old!!! I guess that explains the love of all things vintage!!! LOL!! Hey, I gotta laugh!!!

First the background: Going diagonally and at every gold line, I cut the plaid paper (about 5" in, at widest point), so that I could weave (over 2, under 1 & staggered) my black floral strips into it. Every other section is raised. If you decide to do this, use pencils to hold your pieces up....and tape the back (painter's tape)....trust me!!!

Foreground & embellies: Of course, layering & distressing (Tim's...love that man) of papers from several collections. Lace and ribbon from my stash. Brad is BoBunny. 'Time' word stick from TH. 'i wish' is cut from Blackletter cartridge on Cricut....I used 3 layers (1 from pp & 2 from cardstock) to bulk it up.

Here's a closeup, and mini tutorial on flowers & leaves........

Flowers: Go to Tim's blog, find the 12th tag from 2009 12 Tags of Christmas. That's where I got the technique. But....you know that I had to make it my own!! I cut 5 to six 'flowers' (Plantin Schoolbook Cartridge for Cricut users), 3 different sizes, this is for larger roses...then I inked the edges and followed his instructions to make them. For the smaller roses, I used 2 different sizes. These are glued together...and I'm addicted to making them!!! It's unbelievable how easy they are to make!!! I thought about showing you this technique and then decided that he has done a much better job of it, than I could ever do!!

Leaves: Get you a vintage dictionay page (or anything else you want to use). Tear (do not cut) a leaf shape. Scrunch it and wet it. Carefully open it up and lay it on a clean piece of paper. Play with layering the shape until you get a vein running through the middle. Once you're happy with it, place another clean piece of paper over top, and let air dry, or, or for those of you who are as impatient as I am, iron dry. Then run your distress ink pad over top...I used Vintage Photo & Antique Lace.

Now glue your roses in place on your LO. Keep in mind that these flowers are fairly thick...so you might have issues with putting your LO in a protective sleeve.

So, that's the first one!! I wil post specifics & instructions for every one of my projects that G45 features on their blog. Although, it's killing me to have to hold off. No, they didn't ask or tell me to do that, I'm just choosing to let G45 blog readers get a first look, esp. since I'm doing this for them!!

Okay, so there's a bit of 'ME' in there!!! LOL. I hope that you will visit the G45 blog & leave comments. Not only do I appreciate the blog love, but you know G45 does too!!!! After all, it is about G45 and their gorgeous papers!! Plus, there's always new techniques, and projects from their Design Team, Guest Designers and Featured Artists. Who knows, you could be the next Guest Designer!!!

Okay....one more thing......I'm going to give out a paper pack (22 sheets - 2 of each single page & 2 diecuts) of Le' Romantique (in honor of the month of love) to one person who can give me the correct response to........how many times did I mention Graphic 45 on this post!!! Leave your comment to win!! Will select winner on March 1st. If there is more than 1 correct answer, I will use Random.org to determine the winner.